Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals is the Cheapest Owner in the NFL

With NFL franchises worth over $2 billion on average, you may think all owners spend lavishly on their teams. However, some have gained reputations for being rather thrifty. After extensive research, one owner stands out as the stingiest in the league – Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Brown is legendary for his extreme frugality when it comes to spending on coaches, facilities, and player salaries. This has consistently placed the Bengals at the bottom of the league in expenditures under Brown‘s 30+ years of leadership.

In this guide, we‘ll analyze NFL team spending and the hallmarks of "cheap" owners in depth. We‘ll also profile the other tight-fisted owners that rival Brown for the title of "least extravagant billionaire" in pro football.

Sizing Up Spending in the NFL

To identify cheap owners, we first need perspective on what NFL teams invest in and the range of spending across the league. On average, here is the breakdown of team expenditures, according to the NFLPA:

• 53% – Player salaries and benefits

• 30% – Coaching staff and front office

• 12% – Team facility costs, equipment, travel etc.

• 5% – League revenue sharing contributions

But ranges vary greatly. Player payroll in 2021 spanned from $240 million (Rams) down to $171 million (Patriots). Let‘s examine spending details across NFL franchises:

Player Payroll Spending

Team	2021 Cash Spending	2022 Projected (Cap)
Dallas Cowboys	$287 million	$172 million
Los Angeles Rams	$242 million	$217 million
Las Vegas Raiders	$234 million	$160 million
Buffalo Bills	$232 million	$185 million
Cleveland Browns	$228 million	$200 million
Denver Broncos	$226 million	$189 million
Arizona Cardinals	$225 million	$204 million
Green Bay Packers	$224 million	$208 million
New Orleans Saints	$221 million	$76 million
Seattle Seahawks	$216 million	$229 million

You‘ll notice the Bengals don‘t crack the top 10 here. In fact, they ranked 29th in 2021 payroll spending at just $171 million. They also consistently rank in the bottom five in multi-year cash spending on players.

Coaching Investment

Higher salaries for proven, elite head coaches is another area where owners can choose to splurge or pinch pennies. Here‘s the reported yearly salaries of the highest paid coaches in 2022:

• Bill Belichick, Patriots – $20 million

• Pete Carroll, Seahawks – $14 million

• John Harbaugh, Ravens – $12.5 million

• Andy Reid, Chiefs – $12 million

The Bengals‘ Zac Taylor makes just $4.5 million a year by comparison, one of the lowest coaching salaries in the NFL.

Facilities Spending

NFL teams shell out millions to build state-of-the-art practice facilities and stadiums. However, some owners got creative in keeping costs down.

The Bengals are the rare team that doesn‘t finance their own headquarters and practice complex. Instead, they lease from local governments and practice at a public high school stadium. According to ESPN, the Bengals are the only team that‘s never spent its own money on a practice facility.

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, and Atlanta Falcons have all spent over $1 billion on their stadiums and facilities.

Ownership Wealth

You might assume owners with lower net worths spend less. But great wealth doesn‘t always mean lavish spending on payroll and facilities.

For example, Bengals owner Mike Brown has an estimated $925 million net worth. Meanwhile, Seahawks owner Paul Allen was valued at over $20 billion before his 2018 passing. Yet Allen aggressively spent to make Seattle an NFL powerhouse.

So ownership thriftiness has more to do with priorities and strategy than simply having less money to spend. With the context on team spending established, let‘s examine the league‘s tightest owners.

The Top 5 Cheapest Owners in the NFL

After evaluating team spending, salaries, facilities and overall investment across the NFL, these five owners stand out for their fiscal conservatism:

1. Mike Brown – Cincinnati Bengals

Mike Brown became the Bengals owner in 1991 after his father Paul Brown‘s passing. His frugal management approach includes:

• The Bengals have the league‘s smallest scouting department at just 15 staffers. The average is over 20.

• Their coaching staffs are 20% smaller than average NFL teams.

• They use a public high school stadium for training camp to avoid facility costs.

• From 2011-2020, the Bengals ranked bottom five in cash payroll spending every season.

• They committed just $12 million in 2021 free agent contracts, trailing all NFL teams.

Despite Brown‘s thriftiness, the Bengals have finally become winners under coach Zac Taylor, reaching the Super Bowl last season. However, their small market franchise is worth just $2.8 billion, 28th in the NFL.

Verdict: No owner pinches pennies across the board like Mike Brown year after year. That undeniably makes him the league‘s cheapest.

2. Bud Adams Estate – Tennessee Titans

The late Bud Adams, who passed away in 2013, is notorious for his stingy way of running franchises. As Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans owner since 1960, Adams:

• Relocated the Oilers to Tennessee over stadium funding disputes. The hurried move cost the team key players.

• Kept coach Jeff Fisher for 17 seasons (1994-2010) despite just six playoff appearances. Adams avoided paying top dollar for a new coach.

• According to legend, Adams commissioned the Titans stadium for the "cheapest money could buy." At $290 million, it was the least expensive built between 1998-2007.

• Per ESPN, Adams occasionally made roster decisions like cutting star players himself to manage the budget.

With an estimated franchise value of $3.5 billion, the Titans also rank just 23rd among current NFL teams.

Verdict: The Adams estate has continued the late owner‘s thrifty ways, making minimal investments to boost the Titans‘ roster and facilities.

3. Jeremy Jacobs – New England Patriots

People don‘t normally associated the uber-successful Patriots with cheap. However, billionaire owner Jeremy Jacobs is regarded as quite careful with his money.

• Jacobs was reportedly a key owner behind the league‘s 2011 lockout intended to reduce player salaries and benefits.

• Unlike big spenders like the Cowboys and Rams, the Patriots build through the draft and undrafted free agents rather than splashy signings. Their 2022 payroll is just 14th highest.

• Per ESPN, their notorious trade of Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay was partly motivated by refusing to meet his hefty contract demands.

However, the Patriots do reinvest profits into facilities, as seen with high-end upgrades to Gillette Stadium over the years. At $5.9 billion, New England has the NFL‘s third highest franchise valuation.

Verdict: Jeremy Jacobs doesn‘t pinch pennies to the extent of the Bengals and Titans. But he has often strategically limited costs to field a winner in New England.

4. Bidwill Family – Arizona Cardinals

The Bidwill family has owned the Cardinals since 1932, currently led by Michael Bidwill. Their frugality is evident in the franchise‘s long history of losing and minimal investment:

• The Cardinals went 65 years without a league title from 1947-2008 with just six playoff appearances over that span.

• They were the last NFL team to build an indoor practice facility, opening theirs in 2013.

• For years, the Cardinals had dismal home attendance until fielding consistent winners under coach Bruce Arians from 2013-2017.

• According to NBC Sports, the team made star safety Tyrann Mathieu take a pay cut immediately after ACL surgery in 2016 rather than pay his full salary.

At just $3.5 billion, the Cardinals have the NFL‘s 24th highest valuation.

Verdict: Stingy spending on players and facilities kept the Cardinals losers for decades under the Bidwill‘s ownership. They still closely watch the bottom line.

5. Washington Commanders – Daniel Snyder

Daniel Snyder has faced no shortage of criticism since buying Washington in 1999. His cost-cutting moves include:

• Allowing once-great FedEx Field to badly deteriorate. Snyder refused city funding for upgrades.

• Slashing the team‘s scouting department budget. At one point, Washington reportedly had just one full-time scout according to ESPN.

• Canning highly paid coaches like Marty Schottenheimer after one 8-8 season rather than pay multiple coaches.

• Dropping ticket and concession prices to ensure sellouts during rebuilding years.

However, the lofty D.C. market still grants Washington a $5.6 billion franchise valuation, 8th highest in the NFL.

Verdict: Snyder is more reactionary with his spending cuts than the notoriously frugal Mike Brown. But Snyder has demonstrably pinched pennies managing Washington over the years.

Why Some Owners Spend Less

NFL owners all want winning teams that maximize profits. So why do some run notoriously "cheap" franchises? Several factors contribute:

Cost control mindset – Some are just shrewd businessmen above else. They apply cost discipline across the board.

Leverage the salary cap – Unlike MLB with no spending limits, the NFL salary cap motivates cost-cutting.

Focus on profit – Certain owners appear content fielding decent teams while pocketing high profits.

Reinvest in non-player costs – Not all thrift on payroll means less spending elsewhere like facilities.

Small markets – Teams with less revenue naturally have tighter budgets.

Unwilling to change – Younger owners more open to advice often spend freely to win now.

In most businesses, the owners who cut costs earn praised as sound managers. But in the high-stakes world of sports, it leads to losing seasons and fan resentment.

Of course, the occasional cheap owner still stumbles into championship glory, as the Bengals did last season. But most continue struggling until loosening the purse strings for players, coaches and facilities.

The Bottom Line

NFL owners generally fall into two categories – those who spare no expense fielding a contender versus pragmatic businessmen who watch every dollar leaving their coffers.

Astute readers will notice one critical fact – among the five most frugal NFL owners listed, none have won a Super Bowl in over two decades.

Meanwhile, the league‘s biggest spenders like Jerry Jones, Steve Bisciotti and Robert Kraft have recent titles. This strongly suggests penny-pinching only goes so far competing in pro football.

While spending freely doesn‘t guarantee success, the right investments in players, coaches and facilities establish a winning culture fans can believe in. As the Bengals‘ 2021 playoff run showed, even notoriously thrifty owners like Mike Brown occasionally loosen up and reap the rewards.